The British Council is wrong in its attitude to China

It is sad to see two great organisations having a falling-out, but Nick Cohen is right to draw our attention to the differing attitudes of the British Council and English Pen to the participation of China in the London Book Fair ("The British Council brings more shame on us", Comment).

While it is always good to try to understand the mindset of another culture, it is surely one step too far for the council to appear to endorse the state censorship and absolute constraints upon open debate that prevail in China. Chinese authors who do not conform to state policy are banned and/or imprisoned.

Some years ago, a few of these, now obliged to live in exile, toured this country under the wing of Arts Council England. What the British Council, in its search for business contacts in China, does not appear to appreciate is that writers and opinion formers throughout the free world will judge it by appearances and regard it as an organisation that is prepared to sacrifice to expediency the value for which this country is most respected – freedom of expression.

I write as a former director of literature at the British Council and past president of English Pen. I can hardly believe that the two bodies are no longer singing from the same hymn sheet and fear that it will take years for the British Council to get over the kind of headline accompanying Nick Cohen's justifiably outraged article.

Alastair Niven

Windsor

Berkshire

Nick Cohen suggests that the British Council bringing 21 high-quality Chinese writers to Britain for debate and discussion at the London Book Fair was "dishonourable". Far from it. It is the British Council's role to strengthen ties with China, and more than 100 other countries, through culture and education. And there can be no long-term international relationship more important to the UK than the one with China.

Nick Cohen implies that Chinese writing cannot be good quality or legitimate unless the author is imprisoned or exiled. But the authors who took part in the cultural programme at the LBF were internationally recognised as leading voices writing from China today. Mo Yan, the veteran writer, Han Dong and Li Er, both of whom missed 10 years' schooling during the Cultural Revolution, Annie Baobei who became an internet sensation at the age of 24, Sheng Keyi who writes about new migrations and the metropolis – these authors are writing their best work in contemporary China.

Throughout last week's London Book Fair, British and Chinese publishers forged new business connections. And what hundreds of people saw was robust and forthright discussion with important contemporary writers. Last week's event did not stand alone; it was just one of a whole series of exchanges between British and Chinese authors over the coming year. I have no doubt that China learned more about Britain and we learned more about China. That has to be a good thing.

Martin Davidson

CEO, British Council

London SW1

Don't belittle new fathers

It is entirely reasonable for Barbara Ellen to object to the application of the term "postnatal depression" to men as well as women after the birth of a baby, pointing out that men and women are different hormonally, and expressing concern that a problem women have struggled to have recognised is being hijacked ("'Postnatally depressed' dads? Give me a break",).

But her snide, stigmatising attitude to depression is completely unreasonable and unacceptable. She notes that one of the studies she refers to says that PND-afflicted fathers "engaged less with their babies and were more worried about themselves". Well, you'd expect that if they were depressed, wouldn't you? But no, in the next paragraph, she is stigmatising them as "exhausting narcissists... men incapable of hiding their sulky self-absorption..." And the picture of a man and a baby is captioned "Depressed? Get over it."

About 6,000 people commit suicide each year in the UK. Many of them do it because they do think that they should be able to "get over it" but can't, or because they can't face seeking help in the face of prejudiced views about mental illness.

Dr Andrew S Horne

Consultant forensic psychiatrist

Wokingham

Berks

Racing critics are non-runners

Ask almost anyone in racing about the Grand National and most will accept that there will always be a degree of risk for participants, human and equine. We must stop giving in all the time to non-racegoers who complain about cruelty. If we constantly give ground as we have recently (with whip regulations etc) where will it end? Non-racegoers will never become racegoers, so tell them to go bother someone else and let us get on with what we enjoy.